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- TheSchwartz HANDLING METHODS
Helios::Service - base class for services in the Helios job processing system
Helios::Service is the base class for all services intended to be run by the Helios parallel job processing system. It handles the underlying TheSchwartz job queue system and provides additional methods to handle configuration, job argument parsing, logging, and other functions.
A Helios::Service subclass must implement only one method: the run() method. The run() method will be passed a Helios::Job object representing the job to performed. The run() method should mark the job as completed successfully, failed, or permanently failed (by calling completedJob(), failedJob(), or failedJobPermanent(), respectively) before it ends.
TheSchwartz HANDLING METHODS
The following 3 methods are used by the underlying TheSchwartz job queuing system to determine what work is to be performed and, if a job fails, how it should be retried.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO TOUCH THESE METHODS TO CREATE HELIOS SERVICES. These methods manage interaction between Helios and TheSchwartz. You only need to be concerned with these methods if you are attempting to extend core Helios functionality.
Controls how many times a job will be retried.
Controls how long (in secs) before a failed job will be retried.
These two methods should return the number of times a job can be retried if it fails and the minimum interval between those retries, respectively. If you don't define them in your subclass, they default to zero, and your job(s) will not be retried if they fail.
The work() method is the method called by the underlying TheSchwartz::Worker (which in turn is called by the helios.pl service daemon) to perform the work of a job. Effectively, work() sets up the worker process for the Helios job, and then calls the service subclass's run() method to run it.
The work() method is passed a job object from the underlying TheSchwartz job queue system. The service class is instantiated, and the the job is recast into a Helios::Job object. The service's configuration parameters are read from the system and made available as a hashref via the getConfig() method. The job's arguments are parsed from XML into a Perl hashref, and made available via the job object's getArgs() method. Then the service object's run() method is called, and is passed the Helios::Job object.
Once the run() method has completed the job and returned, work() determines whether the worker process should exit or stay running. If OVERDRIVE mode is enabled and the service hasn't been HALTed or told to HOLD, the worker process will stay running, and work() will be called to setup and run another job. If the service is not in OVERDRIVE mode, the worker process will exit.
Given a metajob, the metarun() method runs the job, returning 0 if the metajob was successful and nonzero otherwise.
This is the default metarun() for Helios. In the default Helios system, metajobs consist of multiple simple jobs. These jobs are defined in the metajob's argument XML at job submission time. The metarun() method will burst the metajob apart into its constituent jobs, which are then run by another service.
Metajobs' primary use in the base Helios system is to speed the job submission process of large job batches. One metajob containing a batch of thousands of jobs can be submitted and burst apart by the system much faster than thousands of individual jobs can be submitted. In addition, the faster jobs enter the job queue, the faster Helios workers can be launched to handle them. If you have thousands (or tens of thousands, or more) of jobs to run, especially if you are running your service in OVERDRIVE mode, you should use metajobs to greatly increase system throughput.
These accessors will be needed by subclasses of Helios::Service.
Most of these are handled behind the scenes simply by calling the prep() method.
After calling prep(), calling getConfig() will return a hashref of all the configuration parameters relevant to this service class on this host.
If debug mode is enabled (the HELIOS_DEBUG env var is set to 1), debug() will return a true value, otherwise, it will be false. Some of the Helios::Service methods will honor this value and log extra debugging messages either to the console or the Helios log (helios_log_tb table). You can also use it within your own service classes to enable/disable debugging messages or behaviors.
The new() method doesn't really do much except create an object of the appropriate class. (It can overridden, of course.)
It does set the job type for the object (available via the getJobType() method).
When writing normal Helios services, the methods listed in this section will have already been dealt with before your run() method is called. If you are extending Helios itself or instantiating a Helios service outside of Helios (for example, to retrieve a service's config params), you may be interested in some of these, primarily the prep() method.
The prep() method is designed to call all the various setup routines needed to get the service ready to do useful work. It:
Pulls in the contents of the HELIOS_DEBUG and HELIOS_INI env vars, and sets the appropriate instance variables if necessary.
Calls the getConfigFromIni() method to read the appropriate configuration parameters from the INI file.
Calls the getConfigFromDb() method to read the appropriate configuration parameters from the Helios database.
Normally it returns a true value if successful, but if one of the getConfigFrom*() methods throws an exception, that exception will be raised to your calling routine.
getConfigFromIni([$inifile]) DEPRECATED
The getConfigFromIni() method opens the helios.ini file, grabs global params and config params relevant to the current service class, and returns them in a hash to the calling routine. It also sets the class's internal {config} hashref, so the config parameters are available via the getConfig() method.
Typically service classes will call this once near the start of processing to pick up any relevant parameters from the helios.ini file. However, calling the prep() method takes care of this for you, and is the preferred method.
getConfigFromDb() DEPRECATED
The getConfigFromDb() method connects to the Helios database, retrieves config params relevant to the current service class, and returns them in a hash to the calling routine. It also sets the class's internal {config} hashref, so the config parameters are available via the getConfig() method.
Typically service classes will call this once near the start of processing to pick up any relevant parameters from the helios.ini file. However, calling the prep() method takes care of this for you.
There's an important subtle difference between getConfigFromIni() and getConfigFromDb(): getConfigFromIni() erases any previously set parameters from the class's internal {config} hash, while getConfigFromDb() merely updates it. This is due to the way helios.pl uses the methods: the INI file is only read once, while the database is repeatedly checked for configuration updates. For individual service classes, the best thing to do is just call the prep() method; it will take care of things for the most part.
Queries the collective database for the funcid of the service class and returns it to the calling routine. The service name used in the query is the value returned from the getJobType() accessor method.
This method is most commonly used by helios.pl to get the funcid associated with a particular service class, so it can scan the job table for waiting jobs. If their are jobs for the service waiting, helios.pl may launch new worker processes to perform these jobs.
Scans the job queue for jobs that are ready to run. Returns the number of jobs waiting. Only meant for use with the helios.pl service daemon.
Creates a Data::ObjectDriver object connected to the Helios database and returns it to the calling routine. Normally called by getDriver() if an D::OD object has not already been initialized.
The initDriver() method calls setDriver() to cache the D::OD object for use by other methods. This will greatly reduce the number of open connections to the Helios database.
Determine whether or not to exit if OVERDRIVE mode is enabled. The config params will be checked for HOLD, HALT, or OVERDRIVE values. If HALT is defined or HOLD == 1 this method will return a true value, indicating the worker process should exit().
This method is used by helios.pl and Helios::Service->work(). Normal Helios services do not need to use this method directly.
The methods in this section are available for use by Helios services. They allow your service to interact with the Helios environment.
dbConnect($dsn, $user, $password, $options)
Method to connect to a database in a "safe" way. If the connection parameters are not specified, a connection to the Helios collective database will be returned. If a connection to the given database already exists, dbConnect() will return a database handle to the existing connection rather than create a new connection.
The dbConnect() method uses the DBI->connect_cached() method to reuse database connections and thus reduce open connections to your database (often important when you potentially have hundreds of active worker processes working in a Helios collective). It "tags" the connections it creates with the current PID to prevent reusing a connection that was established by a parent process. That, combined with helios.pl clearing connections after the fork() to create a worker process, should allow for safe database connection/disconnection in a forking environment.
logMsg([$job,] [$priority_level,] $message)
Given a message to log, an optional priority level, and an optional Helios::Job object, logMsg() will record the message in the logging systems that have been configured. The internal Helios logging system is the only system enabled by default.
In addition to the log message, there are two optional parameters:
- $job
The current Helios::Job object being processed. If specified, the jobid will be logged in the database along with the message.
- $priority
The priority level of the message as defined by Helios::LogEntry::Levels. These are really integers, but if you import Helios::LogEntry::Levels (with the :all tag) into your namespace, your logMsg() calls will be much more readable. There are 8 log priority levels, corresponding (for historical reasons) to the log priorities defined by Sys::Syslog:
name priority LOG_EMERG 0 LOG_ALERT 1 LOG_CRIT 2 LOG_ERR 3 LOG_WARNING 4 LOG_NOTICE 5 LOG_INFO 6 LOG_DEBUG 7
LOG_DEBUG, LOG_INFO, LOG_NOTICE, LOG_WARNING, and LOG_ERR are the most common used by Helios itself; LOG_INFO is the default.
The host, process id, and service class are automatically recorded with your log message. If you supplied either a Helios::Job object or a priority level, these will also be recorded with your log message.
This method returns a true value if successful and throws a Helios::Error::LoggingError if errors occur.
Several parameters are available to configure Helios logging. Though these options can be set either in helios.ini or in the Ctrl Panel, it is strongly recommended these options only be set in helios.ini. Changing logging configurations on-the-fly could potentially cause a Helios service (and possibly your whole collective) to become unstable!
The following options can be set in either a [global] section or in an application section of your helios.ini file.
A comma delimited list of interface classes to external logging systems. Each of these classes should implement (or otherwise extend) the Helios::Logger class. Each class will have its own configuration parameters to set; consult the documentation for the interface class you're trying to configure.
Whether to enable the internal Helios logging system as well as the loggers specified with the 'loggers=' line above. The default is on. If set to off, the only logging your service will do will be to the external logging systems.
You can specify a logging threshold to better control the logging of your service on-the-fly. Unlike the above parameters, log_priority_threshold can be safely specified in your Helios Ctrl Panel. Specifying a 'log_priority_threshold' config parameter in your helios.ini or Ctrl Panel will cause log messages of a lower priority (higher numeric value) to be discarded. For example, a line in your helios.ini like:
will cause any log messages of priority 7 (LOG_DEBUG) to be discarded.
This configuration option is supported by the internal Helios logger (Helios::Logger::Internal). Other Helios::Logger systems may or may not support it; check the documentation of the logging module you plan to use.
If anything goes wrong with calling the configured loggers' logMsg() methods, this method will attempt to catch the error and log it to the Helios::Logger::Internal internal logger. It will then rethrow the error as a Helios::Error::LoggingError exception.
The initConfig() method is called to initialize the configuration parsing class. This method is normally called by the prep() method before a service's run() method is called; most Helios application developers do not need to worry about this method.
The normal Helios config parsing class is Helios::Config. This can be changed by specifying another config class with the ConfigClass() method in your service.
This method will throw a Helios::Error::ConfigError if anything goes wrong with config class initialization.
The initLoggers() method is called to initialize all of the configured Helios::Logger classes. This method is normally called by the prep() method before a service's run() method is called.
This method sets up the Helios::Logger subclass's configuration by calling setConfig(), setHostname(), setJobType(), and setDriver(). It then calls the logger's init() method to finish the initialization phase of the logging class.
This method will throw a Helios::Error::Logging error if anything goes wrong with the initialization of a logger class. It will also attempt to fall back to the Helios::Logger::Internal logger to attempt to log the initialization error.
Given a Helios::Job object, getJobArgs() returns a hashref representing the parsed job argument XML. It actually calls the Helios::Job object's parseArgs() method and returns its value.
These methods should be called in your Helios service class's run() method to mark a job as successfully completed, failed, or failed permanently. They actually call the appropriate methods of the given Helios::Job object.
Marks $job as completed successfully.
failedJob($job [, $error][, $exitstatus])
Marks $job as failed. Allows job to be retried if your subclass supports that (see max_retries()).
failedJobPermanent($job [, $error][, $exitstatus])
Marks $job as permanently failed (no more retries allowed).
Defers processing of a job until its grabbed_until interval expires (default is 60 minutes). This feature requires TheSchwartz 1.10.
Given a metajob, burstJob bursts it into its constituent jobs for other Helios workers to process. Normally Helios::Service's internal methods will take care of bursting jobs, but the method can be overridden if a job service needs special bursting capabilities.
These are the basic methods that define your Helios service. The run() method is the only one required.
This is a default run method for class completeness. You have to override it in your own Helios service class.
MaxRetries() and RetryInterval()
These methods control how many times a job should be retried if it fails and how long the system should wait before a retry is attempted. If you don't defined these, jobs will not be retried if they fail.
Defines which job class to instantiate the job as. The default is Helios::Job, which should be fine for most purposes. If necessary, however, you can create a subclass of Helios::Job and set your JobClass() method to return that subclass's name. The service's work() method will instantiate the job as an instance of the class you specified rather than the base Helios::Job.
NOTE: Please remember that "jobs" in Helios are most often only used to convey arguments to services, and usually only contain enough logic to properly parse those arguments and mark jobs as completed. It should be rare to need to extend the Helios::Job object. OTOH, if you are attempting to extend Helios itself to provide new abilities and not just writing a normal Helios application, you can use JobClass() to use your extended job class rather than the default.
Defines which configuration class to use to parse your service's configuration. The default is Helios::Config, which should work fine for most applications. If necessary, you can create a subclass of Helios::Config and set your ConfigClass() method to return that subclass's name. The service's prep() method will initialize your custom config class and use it to parse your service's configuration information.
See the Helios::Config documentation for more information about creating custom config classes.
Helios, helios.pl, Helios::Job, Helios::Error, Helios::Config, TheSchwartz
Andrew Johnson, <lajandy at cpan dot org>
Copyright (C) 2008-9 by CEB Toolbox, Inc., except as noted.
Portions of this software, where noted, are Copyright (C) 2009 by Andrew Johnson.
Portions of this software, where noted, are Copyright (C) 2011-2012 by Andrew Johnson.
Portions of this software, where noted, are Copyright (C) 2012-3 by Logical Helion, LLC.
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.0 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.
This software comes with no warranty of any kind.


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Recently I introduced a new application on the iPad to the class called The BareFoot Atlas. The Barefoot Atlas is a terrific app that allows students to explore/research countries and landmarks around the world.
Research and Discovery with the Barefoot Atlas iPad Appposted Nov 13, 2013, 5:24 AM by Patrick Johnson
Welcome to our class blog. My name is Mr. Johnson. To learn more about me, visit my All About Me page.You can e-mail me at:firstname.lastname@example.com You can also call me at Maple Grove PS (however please do not use my voicemail as it is not working correctly).
Mr. Johnson- Language, Math, Gym, Health, Science
Ms. VanDiepen,- Music
Ms. Seager- Social Studies
Ms. Greenwood-Visual Arts
Madam Helene- Drama, Dance
Important Reminders
EQAO- May 22nd, May 24th, May 28th
June 1st- P.A. Day
June 7th- In class tryouts for Primary Talent Show
June 14th- Poutine Truck
June 19th Talent Show
** Pizza is served at 1st nutrition break (last year it was second nutrition break)**
Curriculum Focus
Updated:May 22nd
-Answering reading comprehension questions and backing up our opinions by siting examples from the text
-Using inferences to transform our thinking
-Making inferences
-Main Idea- Turning heading into questions
-Asking Questions (non-fiction texts)
-Non-Fiction Text Features (The Power to Zoom in on text features)
-The Power to Visualize- Visualizing picture words as we read and creating a movie in our mind's eye
-Making predictions (Cover, Author, Title, Picture Flick)
-Check for Understanding (summarizing what we have read)
-The Power to Connect (making connections from the text to our own lives)
-Narratives, paragraph writing
-nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
-Descriptive writing, writing paragraphs
-Writer's notebook: Working on writer's voice
-Persuasive writing
-Writing reports
-Writing procedures
-Writing recounts
-Daily/creative writing- Narrowing down writing ideas
-building vocabulary
-changing ends on words
-Probability- Describing the likeliness of an event occurring. Conducting probability experiments
-Solving equations 3+5= 4+ ?
-Adding and solving problems with money up to $10
-Multiplication and Division
-Geometry- 3D shapes, prisms and pyramids
-Geometry: Congruent shapes and lines of symmetry
-Reading time (to 5 minute intervals)
-Measuring length, perimeter and area using standard units
-Repeating patterns with at least 2 attributes changing. Growing and shrinking number and shape patterns.
-Interpreting and making inferences from pictographs and bar graphs
-Constructing surveys, creating pictographs and bar graphs
-Sorting attributes, Venn Diagrams
-Rounding to the nearest group of 10
-Mental math (addition and subtraction)
-representing numbers to 100 and beyond (for examples using base ten, tally marks, arrays, place value, expanded form etc)
-Basketball, running intervals
-fitness, cooperative games
-plants and soil
-building stable structures
-exploring and identifying forces
-S.T.E.A.M. activities
iPad Apps
iPad Apps
Raz-Kids (also in Google Play Store)
Try practising the spelling lists on our class Spelling City page!
You can also download Spelling Task Cards to try with our weekly words!
You can also download the Spelling city iPad app (free) and just search for our class under Patrick Johnson
Literacy at home
Explore Non-Fiction
Britannica School (login: simcodsb password: simc7729)Tumblebooks (login: SCDSB password books)
Red Fish (K-1)
The Magic Key- Interactive stories that reinforce punctuation and other skills
Variety of Language Games
Bitstrips (class code: goo011)
Practice Your Sight Words!
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Practice your sight words with these audio power point books!
Making Words
Make words with the Word Wizard
The Arts
Math at home
Numbersense Activities

subset: commoncrawl


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The collector's first encounter with U.S. Postage and Fractional Currency invariably provokes two questions: What is it? Why was it issued? How was it used? The first question is easily answered. Postage and Fractional Currency is genuine paper money of the United States issued during the 1862-1875 period in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents. Why paper money in denominations of less than the familiar dollar unit was required in commerce is less easily answered. The causes of this unusual issue of official "paper coins" at a time when people still demanded coins of high intrinsic value can only be found in the jumble of cause and effect that has been the catalyst of numismatic history from time immemorial. It would be convenient to state, as has frequently been done, that within a few days of the outbreak of the Civil War all of the gold, silver and copper coins in circulation disappeared due to the desire of the timid to save something of universal value from the threatened wreck of the Union, and of the avaricious to hoard something which would possibly increase in value.
2011 Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money The most comprehensive catalog of U.S. federal currency, featuring 750 high-quality color photographs for easy and accurate identification. Get your copy today!
Undoubtedly, fear and greed acted at once to trigger the hoarding instinct in some individuals, but on the whole, such an observation seems to be overdrawn. Contemporary newspaper accounts make little mention of a serious coin shortage until early in 1862. It would appear that the initial hoarding of hard money was caused by little more than an ingrained distrust of paper money, an attitude more than justified by the nation's experience with non-metallic currency up to that time. The Yankee worker, whose livelihood was completely bound to the money earned tending the lathes and forges of the industrialized North, simply felt more secure when his paper wages had been converted to gold and silver. Consequently, he gave a cool reception to "Greenbacks," which could not be redeemed for either gold or silver and were suspiciously regarded as "faith paper." The reception grew progressively colder as the flood of paper dollars increased. This expressed preference for coins inevitably depreciated Greenbacks in terms of the gold standard. Gold coins commanded a premium of three percent over U.S. and state paper money in January, 1862, the month following the general suspension of specie payment by banks and the Federal Treasury; six percent in June, 1862; 15 percent in July, and 32 percent by the end of 1862. Thereafter the depreciation of Greenbacks accelerated, until at one point in 1864 it required $285 in paper to purchase $100 in gold. The distrust of the Government's fiat paper was also maintained by the snowballing national debt, which reached its high-point of the war - $ 2.8 billion - in 1865. A monetary situation whereby gold commanded a substantial premium over a like face value of paper dollars swiftly drove gold coins from commercial channels, effectively removing the United States from a gold standard. It also created a favorable condition for the exporting of silver coins, which disappeared from the marketplace, but at a less precipitous pace than gold. In 1858 Canada had adopted a decimal system of coinage with a dollar unit similar to that of the United States. In lieu of a sufficient quantity of decimal coinage of British origin, Canada unofficially adopted the coinage of the United States and used it widely in domestic trade. The West Indies and many Latin American countries also imported large quantities of U.S. silver coinage for domestic use. Disappearance of gold from American trade channels and the willingness of foreign users of U.S. silver coins to pay for them with gold combined to produce a legal and highly profitable bullion trade which speculators and bankers found irresistible. The discounting of Greenbacks in terms of gold enabled the exchange of paper money for silver coins, which were then exchanged for gold in Canada, the West Indies or Latin America. The gold was then returned to the United States, where it was used to purchase more Greenbacks at the metal's high premium rate. A safer round-robin to riches can hardly be imagined. Even in times of national crisis, pragmatic profit taking will attract more adherents than an idealistic consideration for the national good. During the last week of June and the first week of July, 1862, more than $25 million in subsidiary coins vanished from circulation in the North. The shortage of silver coins, particularly in the eastern United States, would not be relieved until the summer of 1876. Illogically, the Philadelphia Mint continued a small but steady production of silver coins during the 1861 Although they were of no use to the nation's economy. Bullion dealers obtained them directly from the Mint and . sped them abroad. In 1863, nearly the entire production of silver coins was exported. The withdrawal of subsidiary silver coins in the summer of 1862 all but paralyzed the institutions and practice of everyday commerce. The smallest denominations of official money available were discounted $5 Legal Tender Notes and the copper-nickel cents which had been fed into circulation in great quantities to retire demonetized Spanish silver coins and the large copper cents. When first forced upon the public in 1857, the copper-nickel cent, which was intrinsically worth about 60 percent of face value, had been considered a nuisance; it was regularly discounted three percent and more in large transactions. But with the disappearance of silver coins, the ugly duckling became the belle of the ball. The erstwhile nuisance became the only alternative to walking, or going without a newspaper, or buying a pound of pomegranates and receiving change in kumquats and quince. Cents were bundled in bags of 25, 50 and 100 in a hopeless attempt to bridge the gap between the 1-cent piece and the $5 bill. By March 1863, the lowly cent commanded a premium of 20 percent, but few could be found. The disappearance of nearly all official coinage from trade channels resulted in an outpouring of private emergency monies, some hoary with tradition, others as new and untried as the inspiration which gave them form. State bank notes of $1 and $2 denominations were cut into fractional parts. Other banks issued notes in denominations of $1.25, $1.50 and $1.75. Eastern cities issued their own fractional notes. Merchants, reviving a practice prevalent during the coin shortages of 1837 and 1857, made change in their own promissory notes or "shinplasters," which were notes of small value, redeemable in merchandise at the issuer's place of business. Unscrupulous merchants made change with their own notes even when they had sufficient specie on hand, knowing that the notes were not likely to be presented for redemption by other than their regular neighborhood customers. In like manner, private issues of the eminently collectible Civil War tokens began. Most novel of the emergency monies called into use was the common postage stamp. The use of postage stamps as a low denomination medium of exchange was not a success, but it led directly to the issuing of the highly successful Postage and Fractional Currency series. First issued by the Federal Government in 1847, by the time the Civil War began, the adhesive postage stamp had become a well-established part of the public routine. Inasmuch as they were of official origin, had a constant value throughout the country and were easily obtained, consideration of postage stamps as a medium of exchange for coin-deprived people was inevitable. In early July, 1862, Horace Greeley, publisher of the politically influential New York Tribune, suggested that stamps pasted on a half sheet of paper, with the other half folded over the stamps to afford them protection from wear, would make an excellent coin substitute. Other newspapers quickly endorsed the proposal, as did the coin-starved public. Although there were surely those who attempted to do so, fragile, gummed stamps could not be carried loose in pocket or purse without soon becoming a crumpled, stuck-together, totally useless blob of colored paper. Methods of affording the stamps a degree of protection were quickly devised. They were pasted on sheets of light vellum paper ñ with or without a protective flap ñ which also bore an advertising message and a large numeral indicating the total face value of the stamps. Stamps were also encased in small envelopes, on the outside of which was printed the value of the contents and an advertising message. It soon became apparent that both methods of preparing stamps for the role of emergency money had as many drawbacks as advantages. Pasting the stamps on sheets of paper did not provide them sufficient protection from wear. Those enclosed in envelopes were better protected, but the method of protection provided an opportunity for petty larceny which wasn't neglected. Few recipients had the time to check the contents of each envelope to determine if it contained the proper denominational total of stamps, or if the stamps were unused, or if rectangles of colored paper had been substituted for the stamps. The method of stamp packaging which best satisfied the dual requirements of visibility and protection was patented on Aug. 12, 1862, by a New England inventor named John Gault, who encased a single postage stamp in a round brass frame (25 mm in diameter) with a clear mica front piece through which the stamp could be viewed. The reverse of this case bore the advertising message of the participating merchant who purchased a quantity of Gault's "encased postage stamps" as a means of giving his customers the precise change required by their purchases. Stamps encased by Gault were the 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, 12-, 24-, 30-, and 90-cent denominations of the Series of 1861-1869. That series also contains a 2-cent and a 15-cent stamp, but the 2-cent stamp wasn't issued until July 6, 1863, and the 15-cent value came along on June 17, 1866. But for the eventual authorization of Postage and Fractional Currency, Gault's encased postage stamps would probably have become the chief means of "spending" postage stamps, although they, too, had their disadvantages. The protective mica shield was easily cracked, and the encased stamps cost the distributing merchant the face value of the stamps, plus about two cents per holder. In view of the 20 percent premium existing on official coins, the additional two cents was of little consequence in the instance of the higher denomination stamps, but in the case of the popular one-cent stamp, it meant an expenditure of three cents for every one-cent encased postage stamp obtained from Gault for monetary use. The timing of the initiation of Gault's encased stamps also worked against their quantity distribution. At the time of their appearance in midsummer of 1862, the Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair, was still not reconciled to the idea of using postage stamps for money, and was doing his utmost to prevent quantity sales of stamps to anyone desiring them for coinage purposes. All methods of using stamps for money that had been employed prior to July 17, 1862, suffered the ultimate disadvantage of being illegal, with the consequence that the holder of the stamps could neither redeem them at the post office nor exchange them for Treasury notes. On that date, however, President Lincoln signed into law a measure proposed in self-defense by Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, providing that "postage and other stamps of the United States" were to be received for all dues to the U.S. and were to be redeemable at any "designated depository" in sums less than $5. The law also prohibited the issue by "any private corporation, banking association, firm, or individual" of any note or token for a sum less than $5 ñ a provision that was widely ignored as the private sector continued its efforts to overcome a coin shortage in the face of which the Government seemed helpless. The new law was not without its problems of practicality, either. The post office, already facing a stamp shortage before the gummed bits of paper had been declared legal tender, now had the almost impossible task of providing sufficient stamps for postal use as well as "coinage" use. In addition, there was the problem of who would redeem nearly exhausted specimens of stamps which had been circulating for some time. Blair refused to take them in trade for new stamps and the Treasury would not exchange them for paper money because they hadn't issued them in the first place. Blair's obstinacy ultimately melted before the heat of public pressure, and he agreed to redeem the masses of soiled and stuck-together stamps, but he continued to insist that the actual intent of the poorly-written law had been for the Treasury Department to print and distribute special stamps that would bear a general resemblance to postage stamps, but would be of a different design. A compromise was finally worked out whereby the Treasury Department would sell and redeem specially marked stamps which the post office would also accept for postage. Blair agreed to print the special stamps for the Treasury. Before the stamps could be printed, a further decision was made to issue them in a larger, more convenient size, and to print them on a heavier, ungummed paper. Credit for the final form in which Postage Currency appeared is given to Gen. Francis Spinner, Treasurer of the United States. Spinner pasted unused postage stamps on small sheets of Treasury security paper of uniform size, signed his name to some of them and passed them out to his friends as samples of currency. Congress responded to Spinner's suggestion by authorizing the printing of reproductions of postage stamps on Treasury paper in arrangements patterned after Spinner's models. In this form, the "stamps" ceased to be stamps; they became, in effect, fractional Government promissory notes, a development not authorized by the initial enabling legislation of July 17, 1862. Nonetheless, the notes would be issued without legal authorization until passage of the Act of March 3, 1863, which provided for the issuing of fractional notes by the Federal Government. Five issues of Postage and Fractional Currency in the total amount of $369 million were printed and released to circulation between Aug. 21, 1862, and Feb. 15, 1876, when a flood of silver from the Comstock Lode drove down silver bullion prices, reducing the intrinsic value of silver coins to a point below face, value, thereby insuring that they would remain in circulation. The silver price drop further augmented the supply of circulating silver by triggering a flow back to the United States ñ where they could be exchanged for their greater face value - of the hundreds of millions of silver coins which had been exported to Canada, the West Indies and Latin America since 1862. Congressional Acts of Jan. 14, 1875, and April 17, 1876, provided for the redemption of Postage and Fractional Currency in silver coins, and all but about $1.8 million worth was returned to the Treasury for redemption. The outstanding notes remain legal tender and can purchase their face value equivalent in goods and services today. FIRST ISSUE August 2, 1862 - May 27,063 Denominations: 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢ The First Issue of U.S. Government stamp money is the only one of the five issues to be identified by name as Postage Currency. The initial printing of the First Issue was released through Army paymasters on Aug. 1, 1862, and was provided for general circulation a few weeks later. Although it is a moot point, Postage Currency probably constitutes an illegal issue of fractional notes. Rather than being strictly "postage and other stamps of the United States," and despite being "receivable for postage stamps at any U.S. post office," Postage Currency took the form of reproductions of postage stamps printed on paper which carried the promise of the United States to exchange the currency for United States Notes, which gave Postage Currency the attributes of a promissory note, a development beyond the intent of the enabling Act of July 17, 1862. The stamps reproduce on Postage Currency are the brown (sometimes buff) five-cent stamp of the Series of 1861, bearing the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, and the green ten-cent stamp of the same series, with George Washington's portrait. The 25- and 50-cent denominations bear multiple reproductions of the appropriate stamp. Various colors of paper were used in printing the four notes of the First Issue, but the color does not influence the collector value of the individual note. Faces of the notes are printed in a color approximating the color of the genuine postage stamp, backs are all printed in black. An interesting feature of the First Issue is the existence of notes with both perforated and straight edges. Apparently, the idea of perforated Postage Currency was a carry-over from the postage stamp printing process and was discarded when the demand for Postage Currency exceeded the capacity of the perforating machines. Inasmuch as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing had not yet been established, contracts for printing of the First Issue were awarded to private bank note printing companies. The National Bank Note Company printed the face, the American Bank Note Company, the back. The ABNC monogram appears on the backs of some notes. Total value of Postage Currency issued was more than $20 million. SECOND ISSUE October 10, 1863 - February 23, 1867 Denominations: 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢ The Second Issue of a fractional currency, authorized by Congress on March 3, 1863, all but discarded the concept of postage stamp money. Notes continued to be "receivable for all United States postage stamps," but the identity of the notes was changed from Postage Currency to Fractional Currency, and the notes of the Second Issue did not bear a reproduction of a postage stamp, although the portrait of George Washington on all notes of this issue is the same as that appearing on the 24-cent stamp of the Series of 1861. The Second Issue was made necessary by the ease with which notes of the First Issue had been counterfeited. All Second Issue notes have a slate-colored face with bronze oval surcharge centered on the portrait of Washington. Back of the 5-cent note is brown; the 10-cent, green; the 25-cent, violet, and the 50-cent note, red or reddish-orange. All backs have a large, bronze numerical outline overprinted. Some specimen notes of this issue (and of the Third Issue) were printed on paper watermarked "C.S.A." in block letters, for Confederate States of America. The paper, made in England for the printing of Confederate States paper money, was contraband seized from a captured blockade runner. First Issue notes had been printed by the National Bank Note Company and the American Bank Note Company both of New York - which were one concern in all respects but name - at a cost which the Treasury Department thought excessive. The Act of July 11, 1863, instructed the Treasury Department to undertake the printing of its own currency. Although the primary purpose of Second Issue notes was to retire and replace First Issue notes, they were issued in excess of the requirement, to a total value of $23 million. THIRD ISSUE December 5, 1864 - August 16, 1869 Denominations: 3¢, 5¢, 10¢, (15¢ essay), 25¢, 50¢ Authorized by the Act of June 30, 1864, the Third Issue of Fractional Currency was necessitated by an increased demand for the low denomination notes and by the continuing counterfeiting of earlier issues. Counterfeits of the Second Issue were of better quality and even more numerous than those of the First Issue had been. Third Issue notes provide the greatest number of varieties of any issue of Postage or Fractional Currency. Among these are varieties of paper, different colors of backs, ornamental and numerical value surcharges (or none at all), autographed or printed signatures, no signatures, and multiple designs for a single denomination. In regard to varieties, the 10-cent note is particularly interesting. Through an oversight, the word CENTS does not appear anywhere on the note. The Third Issue varieties are too extensive to be within the scope of these remarks, but they are indicated and priced in the listing which follows. The Act of June 30, 1864, contained a provision which, by amending the Act of March 3, 1863, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to determine the form and denominations of Fractional Currency, the means by which it would be made, and the terms of note redemption. This authority permitted Secretary Chase to issue a 3-cent note to facilitate purchase of the new 3-cent first-class postage stamp. Need for the small note was eventually eliminated by the issue of nickel three-cent coins under the Act of March 3, 1865. Little events can have lasting repercussions, as exemplified by the story of the 5-cent note of the Third Issue. Without the knowledge or authority of his superiors, Spencer M. Clark, then superintendent of the National Currency Bureau, had his likeness put on the 5-cent note of the Third Issue. Clark's presumptive act so angered Congress that a law was enacted April 7, 1866, prohibiting the placing of the likeness of a living person upon any "bonds, securities, notes, Fractional or Postal Currency of the United States." However, the wording of the law did not prohibit the likeness of a living person if the plate for the intended item had already been prepared. Consequently, Clark's portrait didn't disappear from the nation's currency until the passage of May 17, 1866, legislation which authorized the issue of a nickel 5-cent piece and prohibited the issue of any note with a denomination of less than 10 cents. Likewise unaffected were the Third Issue 25-cent note bearing the portrait of William Fessenden, and the 50-cent note portraying Francis E. Spinner, "The Father of Fractional Currency." The only note affected by the legislation was a proposed 15-cent denomination bearing the portraits of Generals Grant and Sherman, for which the plate had not yet been completed. This note was printed only as an essay, and in uniface form, with face and back being printed on separate pieces of paper. All of the Third Issue notes were produced by the Treasury Department. Total face value was in excess of $86 million. POSTAGE AND FRACTIONAL CURRENCY SHIELD The Postage and Fractional Currency Shield was one of the measures by which the Treasury Department sought to overcome and prevent the wide-spread counterfeiting of Fractional Currency notes. The shields consisted of a type set of the first three issues of Postage and Fractional Currency mounted on a heavy cardboard shield surmounted by an eagle and 13 stars. Size of the framed unit was 24 by 28 inches. The shields were made available to banks and other commercial institutions in 1866-67 to provide them with a file of genuine notes to use as a reference when checking suspect notes. Those qualified to receive the shield paid face value for the notes ($4.66), plus a presumed transportation charge, for a total cost believed to be $7.50. The 39 closely-trimmed notes (20 faces and 19 backs) mounted on the shield are specimen notes printed on one side only. They include the scarce 15-cent Sherman/Grant essays and the two faces of the 3-cent note, which are distinguished by dark and light backgrounds to Washington's portrait. The shields upon which the notes were pasted are known in gray, pink and green, with gray being the most common. Although the shields were produced in a quantity believed to be in excess of 4,500, it is presumed that fewer than 200 remain intact, with many of those folded, faded or water-stained. Apparently demand for the shields was less than the Treasury Department had anticipated and the surplus shields were carelessly stored - by common account in an old shed behind the Treasury Building. The number of intact shields was further reduced by early collectors who obtained them solely to secure the scarcer notes, which they removed from the shield. FOURTH ISSUE July 14, 1869 - February 16, 1875 Denominations: 10¢, 15¢, 25¢, 50¢ The Fourth Issue of Fractional Currency continued the refinements evident in the Second and Third Issues, and further diminished the pretense of stamp money with which the five issues of fractional notes were launched. The unaesthetic bronze overprintings were eliminated, and an improved type of paper - containing silk fibers ñ was used. Three of the six designs (there are three different 50-cent notes) comprising the Fourth Issue make no mention of "stamps." Allegorical art claimed a greater role in note design than before; the 10-cent note bearing a representation of Liberty, and the 15-cent note, a representation of Columbia. The 25-cent and the trio of 50-cent notes bear definitive male portraits. The Fourth Issue was produced outside the Treasury Department while the Bureau of Engraving and Printing experimented with new dry-printing operations that only succeeded in destroying nearly every hydraulic press the Government owned. Combined with increased demand for Legal Tender notes, the Treasury was forced to job out the production of the Fourth Issue Fractionals to the National and American Bank Note Companies. The total value of the Fourth Issue was more than $166 million. FIFTH ISSUE February 26, 1874 - February 15, 1876 Denominations: 10¢, 25¢, 50¢ The Fifth Issue of Fractional Currency was short and simple, consisting of but three notes, each of a different design. Why a change of design was thought necessary at that time is unclear, but the decision may reflect the Treasury Department's continuing disenchantment with the cost of notes produced by the two New York bank note firms. Faces of the Fifth Issue were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the backs by the Columbian Bank Note Company of Washington, D.C., and Joseph R. Carpenter of Philadelphia. Printing of this issue was terminated when the appropriations for the printing of Fractional Currency were exhausted. Noteworthy varieties of the Fifth Issue include the green seal 10-cent note and the "long key" and "short key" 10- and 25-cent notes. All notes have faces printed in black, with green backs. All carry printed signatures. Fifth Issue notes were printed to the total value of nearly $63 million, bringing the total value of all Postage and Fractional Currency issued to about $369 million, of which an estimated $1.8 million remains outstanding. For more information on fractional currency and other forms of U.S. paper money, check out Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money at www.shopnumismaster.com.
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Silicon Valley venture capitalist Scott Weiss and LiveSchool discuss differ…08/16
Mentor and venture capitalist Scott Weiss asks whether Syntellia, the maker…07/09
The Wall Street Journal has engaged over 40 thought leaders and business in…06/23
Weiss is a co-founder and former CEO of IronPort Systems, which was acquired by Cisco for $830 million in cash and stock in 2007. While at Cisco, Weiss was the vice president and general manager of the Security Technology Group. Previously, he was a managing director and entrepreneur-in-residence at IdeaLab, where he met IronPort co-founder Scott Banister. He joined Andreessen Horowitz in 2011.
Weiss was employee No. 13 at Hotmail.


text:
Build Guide by
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This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page.
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Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
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Alistar Build
Ability Sequence
Not Updated For Current Season
The masteries shown here are not yet updated for the current season, the guide author needs to set up the new masteries. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.
Alistar - Pocket Guide:
Playing Alistar can be fun, All you have to do is Initiate and be the one who really is responsable for many of the kills, if you are being iggnored you'll see how devestating it can be as you'll just go around and push people too their death.
Task 1: Assist/Kill, you should use the option 1 or 2 for these situations.
Task 2: Initiate, make them focus on you to open up teamfights.
Task 3: Destroy Towers, with Triumphant Roar this is easy.
Option 1:
- Find a target or the closest enemy champion you can get.
- Run up to him/her and use Pulvurise, make sure you hit.
- Run behind him/her and Headbutt your target up to your base/tower.
Option 2:
- Find a Spesific Target with Low health or just one you really want to kill.
- Flash Behind him/her, Use Pulverise if necessary.
- Headbutt them back to your base or allied champions.
- Run up to him/her and use Pulvurise if you haven't already.
Tip 1: Level up Triumphant Roar to heal yourself from harasses.
Tip 2: Use Unbreakable Will if you are being focused, or just need to survive.
Tip 3: Clarity should be used when both you and your lanepartner is oom.
EDIT: Leviathan, you get 2x stacks for every assist now.
Start off with Mana Manipulator
Please leave a comment, and rate if you like.


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Novartis expands immuno-oncology presence
Novartis is seeking to flex its immuno-oncology muscle. The company announced Monday that it has purchased the privately held biotech CoStim Pharmaceuticals. The company did not reveal the cost, but said in a statement that the deal adds several late-stage immuno-oncology treatments to its portfolio.
Despite a series of internal reshufflings, and the recent news that the company is determined to pare back pharmaceutical division flab, Novartis has also made itself a stealth player in the immuno-oncology space, particularly among CDK-4/6 inhibitors. Although Pfizer's palbociclib has the name recognition, analyst discussions surrounding the drug note that Novartis's experimental project is equally, if not more, intriguing than Pfizer's pipeline treatment.
The company called out one component of the CoStim pipeline it had just purchased: a PD-1 therapy, which hints at a deep dive into the same space as Merck, AstraZeneca, Roche and Bristol Myers Squibb. The category's potential reach is expansive, and PD-1s are being tested in lung, skin and kidney cancers, among others.


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Microsoft is muscling back in to the smartphone market in a big way. And, like a weightlifter with a keen interest in military history, it's bringing some very big guns. First came Nokia with its wireless-charging, NFC-toting new Lumia handsets, and now Microsoft has unveiled the second of its massive arms: HTC's new Windows Phone 8X and 8S, named as the flagship phones for the new mobile OS by Steve Ballmer at its launch event in New York.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – design
Like Windows Phone 8, the handsets are square and colourful. The design is touted as 'seamless', with every part – including the camera and buttons – lying flush with the case. The components are stacked along the spine, giving the handsets very thin, smooth edges. Both feel lighter, slimmer and slim and more pocketable than the Samsung Galaxy S3, but the firmly rubbery construction means they don't have the delicate, hope-I-don't-snap-it feel of the iPhone 5.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – power
Although there's no quad-core beefcakery in HTC's new toys, neither is lacking in power, with both phones running dual-core versions of Qualcomm's new S4 chips: the 8X a 1.5GHz backed by 1GB RAM, the 8S runs a 1GB chip with 512MB RAM. We're still only getting the briefest looks at Windows Phone 8, but from what we've seen so far it appears to be very fast and smooth.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – sound
Like HTC's highly successful One X, the 8X incorporates Beats Audio, which means each phone has been personally tuned by Dr Dre. Okay, it doesn't. It means each phone contains two small amplifiers that boost the sound from the headphone jack and the built-in speaker – where every other phone packs around 1W of amplification, the Beats phones feed 2.5W into your rapper-branded headphones.
Giving the 8X a brief listen at HTC's press event today, we can confirm that there was enough delicious bass to briefly convince us that we were in a well-stocked fish restaurant.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – display
The 8X's 4.3-inch 1280x720px display is bright and crisp, and the 8S's smaller 4-inch screen is none too shabby either; both have superb viewing angles. Neither are Retina Display-beaters, but the smooth animations of Windows Phone 8 and the way the OS themes match the cases make for a really nice visual experience.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – camera
The 8MP and 5MP rear cameras appear fast and fully-featured, but it's the 8X's front-facing camera that represents a bit of a breakthrough: it's tiny, but offers a wide angle, an aperture of f/2.0 and 720p video, giving video calling via Skype (which is built into Windows Phone 8) a new dimension.
HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S – overall
Nicely designed, colourful and packing an exciting new OS, HTC's new blowers appear fresher and more futuristic that the latest offerings from Samsung and, dare we say it, Apple.
Oddly enough it's the smaller, 4-in-screened 8S that has really tickled our fancy, with its trendy two-colour design (the grey/yellow combo is particularly fetching) and arched, slender form. It might not be a 4G-packing powerhorse, but if it's priced as attractively as it's designed then we reckon HTC will move these by the ton.
And don't assume that these phones will be short on apps – thanks to a shared core, for every new app that's developed for Windows 8 Pro and RT, it's a short step for the developer to make a Windows Phone 8 version.
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HTC 8X and 8S get priced up for the UK


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For more information please contact the Office of Disability Services. Please feel free to stop by the office or e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
From the website: ABLEDATA provide objective information about assistive technology products and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources.
Computer Related RSI Prevention Guide
From hostingreviews.com, tips on preventing repetitive stress injuries.
Do-IT is a program at the University of Washington that serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It has a lot of resources on making technology and the web accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Duxbury Systems (Braille Embosser)
Develops Braille translation software for the blind and visually impaired.
Online retailer for hundreds of assistive technology products, categorized according to disability and/or equipment needs.
Equal Access to Software and Information
Website for the premiere provider of online training on accessible Information Technology for persons with disabilities. Includes information about upcoming events and their online courses.
Freedom Scientific (Publisher of JAWS)
Offers products for individuals who are blind, have low vision, or have learning disabilities. Includes screen reading software, braille displays, notetakers, PDAs, and magnifier software.
Harris Communications
The one-stop source for products for deaf and hard of hearing people. Offers products from consumer electronics to DVDs to baby items.
Inspiration Software, Inc.
Develops visual-learning based software including mind mapping programs for students and educators.
Kurzweil Education Systems
Offers Kurzweil 1000 and 3000 scanning and recognition software. Built-in voice synthesizer makes print books accessible to visually impaired individuals with the help of a scanner.
Maxi Aids
A large online store with products designed for those with vision, mobility, or hearing impairment.
Microsoft Accessibility
Tutorials on making Windows software more accessible, products and services offered by Microsoft, and articles on assistive technology for individuals and businesses.
Nuance, formerly Scansoft, Inc. (Publisher of Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
Develops speech recognition software, as well as scanning, imagine and document conversion applications.
Telesensory Corporation
Sells video magnifies to help people with low vision read and see detail more easily.
Web Accessibility Initiative: Getting Started
Basic information for people who are new to Web accessibility
Web Accessibility in Mind
Information on Web Accessibility conferences and lectures.
Offers information on disability-related internet resources.
Architechtural Accessibility
Garaventa Accessibility: Stairlift/Platform lifts
Accessibility equipment manufacturer.
Sells and installs residential and commercial wheelchair lifts.
ADA checklist for existing structures
From the Institute for Human Centered Design
Disability Categories
Chronic Medical Condition (CMC)
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.
American Lyme Disease Foundation
A nonprofit dedicated to finding solutions for tick-borne disorder. Includes lyme disease in the news, research, and awards in the field, and links to other sites.
Anosmia Foundation
Approximately two to five million American adults suffer from disorders of taste and smell. Anosmia is to smell, as blindness is to sight, or deafness is to hearing. Anosmics cannot detect scents of any kind. Over 200 medical conditions and many medications have been associated with olfactory changes and loss.
CFIDS Association of America
The Association is a charitable organization working to conquer chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome. They are proud to lead national efforts in CFIDS education, awareness, public policy and research.
Children with Diabetes
Offers sections for kids, parents, and families dealing with child Diabetes. Also has information and resources for adult Diabetes.
Crohn's Disease Resource Center
Offers directories of books, online resources, and information on diagnosis, treatment and support group for Crohn's Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation
Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation creates resources for those affected by the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. By leading the search for knowledge about EDS, we are building a community of people who work together to effect change.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Association
A nonprofit organization dedicated to helping everyone who suffers from IBS through patient support groups, treatment, accurate information and education.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
MSAA's mission is to enrich the quality of life for individuals with multiple sclerosis. Includes information for newly diagnosed MS, programs and services, local support groups and current MS news.
National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health. Large site with many informative documents such as current research and reports, and health information for Diabetes and many other topics, as well as easy-to-read versions of the information.
National Vulvodynia
A nonprofit organization created to improve the lives of individuals affected by vulvodynia, a spectrum of chronic vulvar pain disorders. They offer information about local support groups, and have up to date news and advocacy programs.
Planet Cancer
A vibrant community of young adults with cancer; offers forums, chat rooms, resources for new diagnoses, and links to resources and online stores.
Teens With Crohn's Disease
A home-made site of a teen with Crohn's. Contains information, anecdotes, resources, and a forum.
Food Allergy (FA)
Bob's Red Mill
A natural food store producing more than 400 products including a full line of gluten-free products.
Celiac Disease Foundation
Support and information for people affected with celiac disease. They have been raising awareness since 1990.
Celiac Sprue Association
"Celiacs helping celiacs." A member-based non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals with celiac disease.
"The cool guide to a hip and healthy celiac lifestyle." A blog by two women, Kelly and Kim, who are sensitive to gluten.
Celiac Disease and gluten-free diet information since 1995.
Disability Online: Food Allergy and Intolerance
Disability Online is a website run by the government's Department of Human Services in Victoria, Australia. They have a very interesting article about the difference between food allergies and food intolerance.
Ener-G Foods
Products free of gluten, wheat, egg, and dairy, and products for low protein diets. Included a resources directory.
Food Allergy Initiative
The Food Allergy Initiative is a non-profit organization that raises funds toward the effective treatment and finding a cure for food allergies. They have some valuable information about public policy and allergies and the law.
Gather is a social networking site where you can keep up with people, conversations, and information.
Gluten Free
The widest selection of gluten-free food. They ship domestically to the United-States and Canada.
Gluten Free Mall
A Low prices and a wide selection of gluten-free, wheat-free, casein-free, and other allergy-related health foods and special dietary products.
Gluten Free Mom
A website created by a woman who has a daughter with Celiac disease. This is a fantastic outreach for families suffering from Celiac disease. (Her daughter, Alex, has her own website at glutenfreekid.net.)
Gluten Intolerance Group of North America
The Providing support to people with gluten intolerances, including celiac disease, dermatitis herpetiforms, and other sensitivities.
Illinois Food Allergy Education Association
The IFAEA provides educational materials about food allergies to schools, juvenile courts, airlines, parents, recreational camps, caregivers, restaurants, health departments, and other relevant groups. They have an especially informative page about Disability Laws.
Hearing Disabilities (H)
Communication Access Information Center
"Provides information of use to people employing or in need of Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), also know as realtime captioning.
"Bringing you the news daily from a to z from around the world."
An up-to-date news site with hearing-impaired related news.
Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
The mission of ADDA is to provide information, resources and networking to adults with AD/HD and to the professionals who work with them. In doing so, ADDA generates hope, awareness, empowerment and connections worldwide in the field of AD/HD
Attention Deficit Disorder Resources
This site has articles on ADHD and ADD, information for parents of children with ADHD, and adults with ADHD, and an extensive directory of providers for ADHD-related services. There is also an events calendar and many links to other related sites.
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
CHADD works to improve the lives of people affected by AD/HD through: Collaborative Leadership, Advocacy, Research, Education and Support.
Healthline ADD / ADHD Learning Center
This site has information on ADD/ADHD symptoms, causes, treatments, and more.
LD Online
Offers resources, news, and information for parents, teachers, and other professionals.
LD Pride: What Is It to You?
Contributions from people with learning disabilities about what LD pride means to them. Site also discusses ways to find your own LD/ADD pride, and other types of disability pride.
National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
NCLD provides essential information to parents, professionals and individuals with learning disabilities, promotes research and programs to foster effective learning, and advocates for policies to protect and strengthen educational rights and opportunities.
Mobility Impairment (MI)
Amputee Information Network Blog
Contains links to child and adult amputee sites, as well as other amputee and disability information.
From the site: "Community is the spirit of GimpGirl. We have been supporting the pride and self-esteem of our fellow women with disabilities since 1998, and have no thought of stopping anytime soon. We also invite our current partners and academics to join in!"
Limbless Association
A large, well-organized site offering information about products and services, event postings, news, discussion forums and more aimed to help limbless individuals of all ages (and their carers) achieve maximum mobility and independence in home, hospital, education, employment and the community.
Stumps 'R Us: an amputee support group
From the site: "A Whimsical Support Group of Cheerful Cripples Who Can Answer almost ANY question you might have about life without one, two, three or four limbs"
Tetra Society
A volunteer-based group that creates unique assistive aids for people with disabilities, particularly mobility impairment.
Psychiatric Disability (PD)
BPD Central
BPD Central is a list of resources for people who care about someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
BPD Sanctuary
Offers education, community, support, books and resources. Include articles on Borderline Personality Disorder, information about books, chat rooms and forums, and a mental healthy newsletter.
Bodies Under Siege (BUS)
An active web board for people struggling with issues related to self-harm, with support and information for families and friends as well.
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (Boston University)
The Center is a research, training, and service organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons who have psychiatric disabilities by improving the effectiveness of people, programs, and service systems.
Mental Health Information Network
Provides links, articles and information about mental health services for consumers and staff of mental health service providers and organizations. Local information about Metro Boston area services, as well as regional and national services.
Online Resource/Community for those living with Asperger's Syndrome
Want to discuss Asperger's issues? Wrong Planet is a web community designed for individuals (and parents and doctors of those) with Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, ADHD, and other PDDs. Wrong Planet has everything from valuable links and forums to how-to guides, and has nearly 15 thousand members!
Understanding Asperger Syndrome: A Professor's Guide
At just over 12 minutes in length, this video is long enough to give a concise introduction to life as a college student with Asperger Syndrome. It allows students to practice self-advocacy by identifying needed and reasonable accommodations to help them be successful. Students can provide the video as a tool to educate their professors, teaching assistants, and others about the disorder.
Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)
Active Forever
Online retailer of products for rehabilitation, mobility and pain management.
Ergonomic Information Sites
Listing of several good ergonomic-related sites for individuals with repetitive stress injuries.
Substance Abuse/Recovery (SA/R)
Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
Programs now include both in-person and online programs for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol problems, and suicide prevention.
Visual Impairment (VI)
The Jewish Guild for the Blind
JGB, one of the country's foremost vision care agencies, seeks to assist people who are blind or visually impaired, and who may have additional disabilities, achieve lives of dignity and independence.
Lighthouse International
Lighthouse International's mission is to overcome vision impairment for people of all ages through worldwide leadership in rehabilitation services, education, research, prevention and advocacy.
National Federation of the Blind
Information about NFB and other resources for people with visual impairments.
New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH)
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text:
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) Sheldon McClellan scored 19 points from the bench to give Texas its first win in three days at the Maui Invitational, 69-55 over Mississippi State on Wednesday morning.
The Longhorns (3-2) went up by 18 points in the first half and coasted in the last 20 minutes, shooting 50 percent for the game.
Mississippi State (1-4) made one-third of its shots (17 of 51), improving in the second half after making only five field goals in the first 20 minutes.
Julien Lewis scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. Cameron Ridley had 8 points and 12 rebounds.
Roquez Johnson led the Bulldogs with 18 points, starting after limping off the court with help in the second half of Tuesday's loss to Marquette.


text:
For the most part, Blood on the Saddle is a hardboiled detective story, but there are dashes of science fiction and western and general surrealism in there, too, with an evil corporation performing genetic experiments in the background and writers hiring private investigators to find characters that have gone astray and gun-toting cowboys (the best gods we get from our machines these days) climbing out of the pages of fictional popular fictions just in time to save not the day, but a couple hours, at least, before finding a metafictional sunset to ride to. The structure of the book is loose and even haphazard, allowing all sorts of allusions to play together. In the end, the novel is pleasantly superficial, appealing but not exactly memorable, a fine book for a plane ride or a beach read, because it doesn't require a lot of concentration, it's basically entertaining, and yet it won't make you feel stupid for reading it.
I found myself liking paragraphs of Blood on the Saddle more than pages. Here's one that particularly appealed to me:
What I called "home" was two rooms in one of the six garrets of a building on the Calle San Marcos. It was an attic-studio of the kind the Urban Plan had earmarked for unpublished artist-writers. Various generations of luckless hacks had dreamed of glory within those walls. It was noticeable. The indelible stains of so much useless effort were everywhere. The parquet creaked, worn out from supporting the weight of all the vanity. As soon as you turned off the light, obstinate insects began crawling out of the U-bend of the sink: brilliant metaphors that crawled along the tiles, hemistitches with compound eyes, fragments of prose having opaque integuments, hendecasyllables with eleven feet counted on your fingers...Every few chapters, a paragraph as vivid and clever as that one pops out. Then, somewhat rarer, are paragraphs such as this, where imagery that seems (at least to me, at least right now) fresh and effective communicates a lot about the characters and situations:
Yes, at times I felt very lonely, like an equestrian statue in the rain. A man and his horse, motionless, in the middle of an empty square. The drizzle's coming down on them all afternoon, unhurriedly and unmercifully. Alone, man and horse, out in the open, when even the pigeons are sheltering under the eaves.The novel tries too hard to be too much, and so ends up being much less than it could have been, but it nonetheless manages to be somehow charming, and I hope more of Reig's work is translated in the future, because on the evidence of Blood on the Saddle he has the potential to be a substantial and important writer, one capable of writing quirkily philosophical novels that are also well crafted and entertaining. (I should note, too -- or perhaps go out on a limb by saying -- that Paul Hammond's translation seems to be very good work, because the prose maintains a colloquial tone that never actually feels translated.)


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|4th September 2006, 08:18 AM
full speed
Hey roger. I was wondering. In lighter winds when the wind does not have enough strength to hold your entire weight in the harness (you have enough wind to plane but not enough to totally hike out with the harness cause you fall backwards) how do you get your weight into the harness to get into the straps. do you raise/lower your hips, do you sheet in more etc. once I hook in I try to get more and more of my weight into the harness so I can get into the back footstrap so my weight is forced through the mast foot making the board go faster but I keep feeling like I am going to go into the drink behind me.
PLease help as I do not like to go into the drink backwards when I am going faster. especially hooked in.
thanks a lot,
|4th September 2006, 12:14 PM
Dream Team - School Guru
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,202
RE: full speed
Hi Thomas,
If you are planing, and completely hooked in before you get back to the footstraps, I'd suggest going a bit more slowly.
When you are hooked in, often yo have alot less sensitivity to the pressure in your rig, and normally when hooked in, you have the rig sheeted in to the point that your forward drive is reducing and the sideways force is increasing (unless you are still accelerating).
So, don't hook is so early.
Best thing to do when you are "underpowered" is to rig a larger sail that will be powered up.
If you don't have a larger rig, think about slacing off your downhaul a little and the outhaul as well to increase the draft in your sail, making it more powerful.
Often, sheeting in more, shuts off your power even more. Try easing your sheeting angle a little to see if there's more power (foreward drive). In fact, sheet out a little, sheet in a little, and look for the "best" sheeting angle for your point of sail and speed.
This will always be changing, and the old sailing axion "when in doubt, sheet it out" applies here.
You have to be aware of "acceleration" at all times when marginally powered.
Try to only do things that create improved acceleration, and try not to do anything that causes the board to stay at the same speed or to lose speed.
If you unhook, you may be able to pump your fin a bit, to accelerate your board, or you can "flutter pump" with the back hand to gain a little acceleration.
As far as weighting the rig, you can do that by "squatting" slightly, but drop your weight straight down, not out and away from the rig like you would if you were powered up and expecting the rig to support you.
As far as falling in backwards, what is your fear here?
That's the easiest way to fall in.
If your fear is being hooked in and trapped under the sail, try doing some "practice exercises" on how to unhook and escape from under your rig.
Do this in waist deep water and find someone to "spot you" (like in gymnastics) so that if you get trapped and can't get out, they can lift the rig by the mast tip and give you some breathing room.
Practice "clearing your harness line off your harness hook with one hand, then swimming along the boom, toward the mast, and out from under your sail.
Soon you will be able to challenge any fear of being trapped, and calmly use "muscle memory" to clear the hook from the harness lines and move out from under your sail.
Hope this helps,
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